Ride Horse Trot
Ride Horse Trot
how can i stay on and balance when i ask my horse to trot/canter bareback?
i can ride my horse just fine at a walk. at a easy trot i do fine as well. but once she starts picking up speed in her trot she gets very bouncy and as i slow her down to the normal trot i always slip off to the right. i do pretty good loping too. but again when i grab the reins to slow her to a trot/walk/stop. i always slip off. its always towards the end of the gait that i slip tho (like just before i ask her to slow or stop) i always have my legs relaxed and rarely tense up. thanks in advance
You need to work on your center of gravity. You should not use your hands for balance, which is what I suspect you are doing. I suspect that you pull with the reins and tilt forward or off to the side as a result.
My suggestion is to have your trainer put a calm horse on the lunge on a large circle, and have you ride bareback. I would start with you holding mane as you trot and canter, then get you to hold your hands out like and airplane, up towards the sky and eventually move them around like propellers.I would go both directions, do lots of transitions (even canter to walk and walk to canter when you’re secure enough) and have you try posting trot with no hands. I would end the lesson with you in a normal riding position, hopefully with a better sense of balance. Doing things on a lunge is very helpful when you’re learning to command your body in ways that you haven’t before because you can focus on only yourself and not have to worry about controlling the horse.
It’s great for balance and using parts of your body independently, which I find is something many beginners have trouble with. This will free you up when riding and make your cues a lot clearer to your horse, as well as helping you stay on!
Good luck!
How to Ride a Horse in the Western Style : How to Transition a Horse from Lope to Trot Western Style
